Student Newspaper Articles

Tim Folliard Sports Writer Photo credit: Getty Images Patrick Mahomes was named Super Bowl MVP after scoring three touchdowns. After Patrick Mahomes was intercepted by Tarvarius Moore, ESPN gave the 49ers a 91.9% chance to win the Super Bowl with 11 minutes and 57 seconds remaining. A few minutes later, that number spiked to a 95.3% chance that the 49ers were going to take home the Lombardi trophy. However, the Chiefs defied the formula and scored 21 points in the 4th quarter to win the Super Bowl. The 49ers were in control for most of this game. Linebacker Fred Warner intercepted a Mahomes pass intended for Tyreek Hill. The 49ers turned this opportunity into points by scoring six plays later with a touchdown run by Raheem Mostert. This gave the 49ers a 20-10 lead. They would hold onto that lead until under three minutes left in the game when Damien Williams caught a touchdown pass from Mahomes that gave the Chiefs a 24-20 lead. After turning the ball over on downs, Williams b...

Tim Folliard Sports Writer Photo Credit: Washington Post Millions of people will tune in to watch Super Bowl LIV, which takes place this Sunday in sunny Miami Gardens, Florida. Some of those viewers will be mainly watching for the commercials and halftime performance. Other than that, a football game will be played between two outstanding teams. Here is everything you need to know about the matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. The 49ers are coached by Kyle Shannahn. Kyle is no stranger to the big game. Kyle is the son of legendary NFL coach Mike Shanahan, who won two Super Bowls of his own as a head coach. Kyle also has had a big role in Super Bowl history. He served as the offensive coordinator and play-caller for the 2016 Atlanta Falcons that blew a 28-3 lead to the New England Patriots. Many blame Kyle for the loss, as he continued to call passing plays that left time for the Patriots to seal the come from behind 34-28 win. The 49ers’ game plan ...

Tim Folliard Sports Writer Raheem Mostert and the 49ers will face off with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Photo credit: AP After dominating performances, the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will meet for Super Bowl LIV. The teams were able to win with two different styles of offenses in their conference championship games. The most notable statistics from Sunday’s matchups were the Chiefs accounting for 292 yards through the air and the 49ers with 285 yards on the ground. In the AFC Championship game, Kansas City faced off against the Tennessee Titans. The Titans got off to a strong start and took a 17-7 lead in the 2nd quarter. It looked as if the Chiefs were going to be the next team that season were to end at the hands of the Titans. The Titans reached the championship game after pulling off upsets of the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens. Those wins ignited their fan base as the Patriots were the defending Super Bowl champions and th...

Tim Folliard Sports Writer Photo courtesy of benueagles.com As the temperatures are starting to fall outside, the Benedictine basketball teams are starting to heat up. At the halfway mark of their seasons, the men’s team currently has a record of 10-3 and the women’s team has a record of 11-2. The men’s basketball team has been ranked as high as 19th in the nation so far this season. One of their biggest wins of the season took place on the road against North Central College, who was ranked 9th at the time. Their largest margin of victory took place when they throttled Marian University 102-35. The Eagles currently sit second in conference after a 1-point loss against conference leader Wisconsin Lutheran this past weekend. According to ncaa.org the eagles top point scorer is Eric Grygo who is averaging 18.5 points per game. Grygo is second in conference scoring with a 66.7% field goal percentage. Kyle Graebner is second on the team with 11.3 points per game. The women’s basket...

Tim Folliard Sports Writer Trubisky threw three touchdowns in the Bears’ victory against the Lions. Photo credit: NBC Sports DETROIT, MI – The Bears defeated the Lions 24-20 on Thanksgiving to improve to 6-6 on the year. The Bears overcame a slow start to end the game with a 17-3 run. Mitchell Trubisky led the way with 338 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. Cordarrelle Patterson opened the feast with a 50-yard kickoff return that gave the Bears great field position. After a 14-yard run by David Montgomery he brought the ball up to the 10-yard line, with Trubisky connecting with Allen Robinson for the opening score. The Lions responded by scoring on their next two drives to take a 14-7 lead in the first quarter. Lions quarterback David Blough was impressive on those two drives. His first NFL completion was a 75-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Golladay. Blough followed that up with another touchdown to Marvin Jones, Jr. Blough, who went undrafted in the 2019 draft, was making his firs...

Tim Folliard Sports Writer Myles Garrett hit Mason Rudolph in the head with his own helmet at the end of the Steelers vs. Browns game. Photo credit: Associated Press CLEVELAND, OH – At the end of the Browns and Steelers game, a fight broke out that caused the NFL to hand out the longest suspension for a single on-field incident. The game was well in hand for the Browns, who were up by 14 points with 13 seconds remaining. Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph dropped back and threw a swing pass to Fitzgerald Toussaint. After the pass was thrown, he was taken to the ground by Myles Garrett where chaos ensued. Rudolph, who threw four interceptions earlier in the game, took offense to the hit. He attempted to remove Garrett’s helmet while lying on the ground. Garrett then took off Rudolph’s helmet and proceeded to use it as a weapon against him. He hit Rudolph on top of the head with the helmet. Steelers lineman Maurkice Pouncey started throwing punches and kicking Garrett after that...

Tim Folliard Sports Writer Sophomore Claire Gibler (above) went 4-5 from three against Augustana. Photo credit: Steve Woltmann ROCK ISLAND, IL – Women’s basketball started off the season at the Augustana College Hyatt Place Tournament. They ended up placing second in the four-team tournament after beating Augustana on Friday and losing to Hope College on Saturday. Hope College is currently ranked #6 in the nation. Augustana College Game The women’s basketball team started off the season with a 74-69 win against Augustana. It was an exciting game that featured thirteen lead changes and seven ties. Benedictine trailed by seven after the first quarter, but with a twelve-point run the scoring in the second quarter came alive. Seven of those points were scored by Allison Michalski after she hit two jump shots and converted a three-point play. Benedictine led the entire third quarter helped by three pointers by Claire Gibler and Brittney Pitzer. Points were also scored in the paint ...

Tim Folliard Sports Writer Senior Lukasz Sulka (above) scored the game-winning goal. Photo credit: Dani Gariglio The NACC started their postseason tournament this past weekend. Both the men’s and women’s teams were able to qualify after strong regular season performances. The men advanced with a 3-2 victory and the women lost 1-0 in overtime. Men’s Soccer After trailing for nearly 70 minutes, Benedictine was able to score two late goals to beat Concordia University Chicago. The Eagles started off the scoring in the 3rd minute after a cross by senior Lukasz Sulka found junior Michael Alemu, who kicked it into the back of the net. The Cougars responded with two goals of their own in the 6th and 11th minute of the game to take a 2-1 lead. They held that lead until the 80th minute. Benedictine tied it up after a goal by Andrew Leon in the 80th minute. Shortly after, a hard foul on Alemu set up the Eagles with a free kick a yard outside of the box. Sulka perfectly hit the free kick...

Tim Folliard Sports Writer Benedictine ran for 227 yards as a team. Photo Credit: Eli Smith Kicking a field goal in wet and windy conditions is not an easy task. To add to the challenge, the game is on the line. But despite these challenges, freshman kicker, Tanner Mateus made the 18-yard field goal and Benedictine beat Eureka College in a slugfest 17-14. Most of the game was played in heavy rain and windy conditions. The weather played a role in the Eagles game plan as they ran the ball 37 times on 45 offensive plays. Senior running back Josh Williams got most of the carries as he ran 23 times for 190 yards on the ground. He scored both of the Eagles touchdowns. “The weather affected our game plan a lot, but we made the right adjustments and let our ground game win it for us,” junior wide receiver Dylan Leschewski said, “Josh Williams had a great day, along with the linemen up front. They really carried us to victory in the downpour of rain.” The Eagles also were aided by a...

Tim Folliard Sports Writer Team celebrating a block Photo Credit: Eli Smith LISLE – The Benedictine women’s volleyball team has put together a very successful season. After a win against MSOE and a loss to Concordia University Wisconsin this past weekend, they are currently 15-6 and are in position to secure a berth in the conference postseason tournament. “Our main goal for the rest of the season is to make it to the NACC tournament and go far into the postseason,” said junior Molly Stock. They have not reached the tournament since 2016 and have not won a tournament game since 2013. In 2012, Benedictine was able to win the NACC tournament and receive a bid for the NCAA tournament. Stock and senior Taylor Dunwell attribute this team’s success to how close they are off the court. “We have grown so close as a team this year,” Dunwell said, “it’s been the most fun season when it comes to creating a connection.” “Our team connection is the biggest difference,” Stock said, “I’v...

Tim Folliard Sports Writer LISLE – Benedictine was able to strike first in overtime to defeat Edgewood by a score of 3-2. The game-winning goal was scored by freshman, Alex Pillath. Benedictine Senior, Aldreiron Smith, scored the lone goal of the first half in the 19th minute. After an Edgewood player received a red card in the 55th minute, Edgewood came back and scored two goals in the 56th and 58th minute. The game featured one red card and five yellow cards between the two teams with Benedictine picking up four yellow cards. Off a penalty kick by senior Lukasz Sulka, Benedictine evened up the game in the 76th minute. The teams remained tied until the 97th minute when a dribbler from Pillath sneaked its way into the post for the third and final goal of the game. “Scoring the goal felt really good,” Pillath said, “It was a very hard-fought game and neither team wanted to give anything up.” After the goal, Benedictine celebrated accordingly. “It was an absolutely amazi...

Tim Folliard Sports Writer Sophomore James Leane Photo Credit: benueagles.com HAVEN, WI-The men’s golf season ended Monday with a 6th place finish at the conference golf meet. Out of fifty-three golfers, the Eagles had two place in the top 20 with senior Jordan Velez placing 17th, and sophomore Nate Kirberg finish 8th overall. The meet took place at Whistling Straits golf course in Haven, WI. Whistling Straits has hosted the PGA Championships in 2005, 2010 and 2015. The course is the future host for the 2020 Ryder Cup. The course’s setup on Lake Michigan brought beautiful views and brought some additional weather challenges. “The course was amazing, I love playing up at conference,” Kirberg said. “Throughout the tournament we battled tough winds and cold temperatures, but we were able to overcome it.” “Both tournament days there was a substantial amount of wind,” Velez said. “Which alters the trajectory of the golf ball.” Weather has been a component during the golf season...

Tim Folliard Staff Writer Photo Credit: benueagles.com Racine, WI-The women’s golf season wrapped up this past Monday with the NACC Championship. With contributions from all four eagles, Benedictine was able to walk away with a 5th place finish. Senior Ries McCue finished in 9th place. After previous experiences at the conference tournament, McCue had a different mindset. “This year, my main goal was to avoid blowing up at all and play safe the whole weekend. I ended up shooting almost the same score each day, so that was a big accomplishment for me.” The accomplishment is even more impressive when considered the external circumstances faced. “We experienced three different types of weather in all three days of the tournament. The first day was very windy. The second day it rained the entire time and the third day was one of the hottest days we have had in a while. The course itself is one of the hardest I’ve ever played, and the varying weather conditions just made it that ...

Tim Folliard Staff Writer Photo Credit: benueagles.com SOUTH BEND, IN – Benedictine University men’s and women’s cross-country teams competed at the National Catholic Invitational this past Friday. The event was held by the University of Notre Dame with 23 teams participating from all over the country. Teams included Notre Dame, Dayton and Crieghton. The men’s cross-country team sent seven runners with sophomore Marcos Garcia finishing 23rd overall out of 160 competitors. Through the other contributions, the Eagles finished 13th out of 21 teams. The women’s cross-country team had five runners with senior Emma Roberts leading the Eagles with a 17th overall out of 158 runners. As a team, Benedictine finished 16th overall. Each one of the teams had two runners finish in the top 80 of runners. Roberts enjoyed the meet and has liked the spirit her teammates have shown so far this year. “Our coach Paul Zavala works hard to give us a college experience to remember, and part of ...

Tim Folliard Sports Writer Photo Credit: Tim Folliard Wheaton, IL – The Benedictine women’s volleyball team was one of seven teams that competed at the Marilyn Scribner Invitational this past weekend. They were able to walk away with two wins against Buena Vista University and North Central College, along with a loss at the hands of St. Mary’s College. Senior Taylor Dunwell was named Tournament MVP after recording a total of 39 kills and 38 digs. St. Mary’s College Match: Benedictine started the match with a 12-6 lead with 10 of those points coming from Eagle kills. With the help of Benedictine errors, St. Mary’s was able to take the lead at 17-16. St. Mary’s would not look back and won the first set 25-21. The next set featured a 10-3 Benedictine run that put them on top 18-17. The point run was helped with serves by freshman Madelynn Seper and kills by Dunwell and sophomore Hannah Griffith. However, St. Mary’s ended the game with a run of their own and took the second set 25...

Timothy Folliard Sports Writer Photo Credit: Chicago Sun Times Chicago, IL – The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers kicked off the NFL’s 100th annual season with the Packers winning the low-scoring battle 10-3. The 199th matchup between the two teams showcased strong defenses and weak offenses. The Bears and Packers offense only had 93 rushing yards combined. The game featured seventeen punts and ten sacks. The first quarter, Aaron Rodgers led the Packers to -12 yards of total offense. This was highlighted by two 3rd down sacks by the Bears defense. Setup with good field position, the Bears managed a short 16-yard drive and settle for a 38-yard field goal by Eddy Pineiro. The kick brought a sigh of relief to Bears fans. Last January, the Bears season ended with a missed field goal which ricocheted off the left upright. The Bears cut the kicker that missed the field goal and the 23-year-old Pineiro won a training camp battle to become the Bears kicker. To start the second qu...